Action for Happiness becomes an independent charity
25 Jan 2018 | Action for Happiness
** NEWS RELEASE **
We are proud to announce that Action for Happiness is
now an independent charity
Action for Happiness was launched in 2011 as a new venture
within The Young Foundation. It was incubated there
over the following years as it has grown into a thriving global
movement. It is now a separate Registered Charity (1175160) and
will be continuing its social mission to help
create a happier world as a fully independent entity from now
onwards.
![Af H Poem Landscape Small](/media/604454/afh_poem_landscape_small_600x438.jpg)
Action for Happiness was co-founded by Richard Layard (Director of the Wellbeing
Programme at the Centre for Economic Performance and Emeritus
Professor of Economics at LSE), Sir Anthony
Seldon (Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham) and Geoff Mulgan (CEO of Nesta and former CEO of
the Young Foundation).
The movement's Patron
is the Dalai Lama who helped to launch its Exploring What Matters course in 2015.
Thousands of people have since taken part in these
8-week courses, which have been found to deliver significant
increases in mental wellbeing (+20%) and social trust (+17%).
The roll out of Action for Happiness continues the Young
Foundation's track record of incubating ventures that tackle
entrenched social issues, with previous examples including the Open University,
School for
Social Entrepreneurs and Uprising.
Since inception Action for Happiness has grown to having;
- Over 100,000 signed up members across over 100 countries
- An online community of over 1 million people
- 25,000 people who have attended face to face events
- 3,000 people who have stepped forward to lead local community
courses
Richard Layard, co-founder of Action for
Happiness said:
"We want to see a fundamentally different way of life - where
people care less about what they can get for themselves and more
about the happiness of others. We had a flying start inside the
Young Foundation and have brought together an amazing movement of
people taking action to increase happiness by helping each other.
Our aim is now to see our Exploring What Matters course reach far
more people and to help our volunteers in creating thousands of
face-to-face groups in local communities across the UK and around
the world"
Mark Williamson, Director of Action for Happiness
said:
"We urgently need a shift in priorities in our society. The unique
thing about Action for Happiness is the link between personal
action and social change: our members not only discover ways to
increase their own wellbeing, they also do a huge amount to help
create happier families, schools, workplaces and local communities.
We are so grateful for the amazing support and incubation provided
by The Young Foundation over many years - and we are very excited
about this next phase of our journey as a fully independent
organisation"
Helen Goulden, CEO of The Young Foundation said:
"The Young Foundation is rightly proud of its track record of
creating and incubating the scaling-up of great ideas that have
really made a difference to people's lives. We know that happiness
and fulfilment come less from material wealth and focusing on
ourselves and more from relationships and helping others. Action
for Happiness offers a fantastic way of advancing that idea in
easy, practical and impactful ways. We are thrilled at the success
of Action for Happiness and wish them every success in the
future"
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- For interviews and more information please contact:
Lucie Russell lucie.russell@youngfoundation.org Tel: 07931
507873
- The Young Foundation finds new ways of tackling major social
challenges by working alongside communities, using the tools of
research and social innovation. We run a range of national and
international programmes, and work in partnership with leading
organisations, thinkers and policymakers to achieve this. Find out
more at www.youngfoundation.org
- The Young Foundation has created and supported over 80
organisations including: Which? The Open University, Language Line,
Social Innovation Exchange, School for Social Entrepreneurs,
Uprising and Action for Happiness.
- Action for Happiness is a movement of people building a happier
society by making positive changes in their personal lives, homes,
workplaces and communities. It is a Registered Charity (1175160)
and Company Limited by Guarantee (10722435) in England and Wales.
Find out more at www.actionforhappiness.org